5 Years Old!

Happy Fifth Birthday, Sydney! Surely there must be a mistake in the math, because I can't believe the Josie x Jake litter is 5 years old!

Happy 5th Barkday to Bella, Bo, Breezy, Meme, Sydney, Tater, and sweet Encore, who is waiting at The Bridge... I remember getting the call from Jacque like it was yesterday, and I'm so thankful to have been able to be a part of their lives right from the start!

Sydney, NAP and 2 Open legs!

I'm so proud of Sydney. She went to an agility trial in February, one in March (finished her NJP), got one leg on her HT at a herding trial in April. Then she took Maternity Leave in the spring and summer. I took her to one session of classes, and entered her in the local Labor Day weekend trials.

Syd did really well, picking up an Open Jumpers leg the first and third day, and finishing her NAP the second day. I was proud, as usual, of her willingness to work with me even though we don't train very much.

I need to go back and retrain the teeter, since Syd really hesitated every time on the teeter. So no more Standard until we get a chance to go back to the beginning. :-)

Her puppies went to the trial for a bit to meet new friends and hang out, and her little mini-me daughter had to get in the photo of the happy agility girl!

Syd's Herding Lesson, March 13

Here's Syd's herding lesson from today. A light lesson in the pen because I don't want her to re-injure herself from last weekend's teeter mishap. She has the HT in just a few weeks, so I have lots to do to get myself ready. Syd seems to know what she's doing, I just have to get better so I don't mess her up.

New Title, and Video to Prove It!

So proud of Sydney, this morning we left the house at 3:30 am to drive over to Lake St. Louis for agility trials. Her JWW course was a basic figure 8, and I was hoping that she could eek out her title today. She didn't disappoint, and came through with a nice run. I was so worried that we (ME) would make a silly mistake and NQ. Thank goodness my dog is smarter than me. :-)

So Syd is now CH Kingsbury's It's My Alias NJP* (pending AKC confirmation)

3 for 3 Agility Trials

Syd ran in agility trials this weekend, and she did great! She hasn't gone to any trials in almost two years, and she hasn't had much opportunity for training recently, so I had no idea what she would do.

I was really proud of her. Saturday, she NQ'd in all three events, because of slight bobbles, including the weaves, but I have not done re-training so I could not fault her for that. I was pleased that she was focused, stayed with me, and she seemed to enjoy herself.

On Sunday, she ran Novice Fast and Q'd, with a send bonus of Aframe and tunnel. I was so proud, because contacts are not Syd's strong suit! Then she qualified in Jumpers, and finally in Standard. So on Sunday, Syd picked up three legs, one NFP, NJP, and NAP! This video is her Standard run. We almost had a crisis at the teeter when she let it tip back, but she persevered. A couple of refusals because of my handling, and at the end of two very long days. But Syd did it, and contacts, weaves, table all very well.

If the embeded video doesn't work, here's a link directly to YouTube

NAP run: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FM4lBcxVEw

And here's Syd's Q NJP run in Jumpers from Sunday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMzanRlAj0Q (direct link to YouTube)

And finally, her first run of the morning, the NFP leg that was my favorite run of the day:

direct link to YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmGNq0QH3JQ

Training the Youngster

Sydney takes training very seriously. This winter, she feels that her son Biscuit is old enough to learn to "really" play in the snow. She's tired of holding back, going easy on the puppy, being a "good" mom... Look out Biscuit, this will really be an education!

Poor little boy, he has NO idea what his mom has in store for him. She looks sweet enough... And now for Syd's 12-step program!

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Step 1: Bite your opponent on the neck to get his attention. That'll really increase the odds that he will chase you. .

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Step 2: Take off, watching over your shoulder to be sure loyal subject, err, Biscuit, is following.
(ed. note: Now that's what I call some FLUFFY PANTS!)

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Step 3: Pause for a moment to let your opponent, uh, son, get his mind wrapped around what's happening here.

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Step 4: Take off again, leaving subject in your (snow) dust.

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Step 5: Stop again, review rules of the game with trainee. Ask him to recite rules 1 through 4.

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Step 6: Run THIS way.

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Step 7: Run THAT way.

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Step 8: Pick up speed, since he almost caught you in Step 7 (above). But DON'T get yourself into a skid (below).

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Step 9: Dash left, zig when he zags.

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Step 10: Change direction, never let him see your next move.

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Step 11: feel sorry for poor subject, uh, son, and let him rest for a minute. Fall for his sad, sappy expression when he asks if this lesson is over.

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Step 12: Lead trainee "back to the barn," time well spent, knowing The Biscuit has had training from The Master.

Please...

Please can I go back to class and dog shows? I promise to be good...

New Spectator Event

Syd and Jazz have created a new spectator sport, and they hope to become famous by performing at agility trial halftime shows around the world.**

Introducing, The Great Sydini.

And her assistant, Jazzarooni.
Their basic moves include synchronized A-frame leaping, all together now, UP and Over.

But the move that brings the crowd to their feet is the Double-blind, Up-and-over, Mid-air Cross with an over-the-shoulder twist. Oooh, it's so dangerous, and daring. I could hardly watch them during the practice and perfection of this move. When they pull it off, it's a sight to behold.

Applause, Please.... Tah-Dah!

**(shh, I haven't been able to break it to them yet that there are no halftime shows at agility trials)

Where Did the Puppies Go???

Sydney decided it was time for her to reclaim her blog, and I decided it was time to really start working with her again and getting back to training. I'm hopeful that this summer, Syd will get back to agility, and also get started in obedience.


But where did the puppies go???? No worries, the puppies have their own space, and it's right here:

http://hurrikanepuppy.blogspot.com/

So if it's [muddy] puppies you are looking for, run on over to the Hurrikane Puppy Blog!

Now I can keep the puppy blog, and Syd's blog can get back to Syd's training blog. Everything should look familiar over at the Hurrikane Puppy blog, and all the posts moved successfully.

We are officially back to our regular Sydney broadcast at the Sydney blog! There are still some housekeeping items to tidy up on both blogs, but the main content is all straightened out.

Multi-tasking Momma

I'm sorry, but there should be some type of award, certificate, title for this kind of talent. Syd is participating in Extreme Multi-tasking. She's nursing one puppy and wrestling with the other while contorted into a canine pretzel in her favorite dog bed.
No puppies were harmed in the making of these photos.

In fact, Syd's lower half never even moved, so Mr. Brindle was completely oblivious to the Corgi Wresting Federation match taking place. Take a look at her back leg that's propped up on the side of the dog bed. No matter what her front half is doing, the back half never changes position!

She's one happy (albeit totally destructive) momma dog, enjoying the pure fun of puppyhood once again!

And after one final face grab by the fuzzy pup,

Tah-dah! Game over, everyone's happy.